The slidable buckle portion of automotive seatbelts is typically suspended from the seatbelt's webbing so that the webbing and slidable buckle hang alongside an interior trim panel, such as a C-pillar trim panel when the seatbelt is not in use. If a vehicle is operated either with the windows open and at a higher speed, or on an uneven road, the suspended belt may swing on its upper mount, causing the slidable buckle to strike the interior trim with an annoying sound.
It would be desirable to provide a slidable buckle having both superior sound damping characteristics and a user-friendly soft-touch cover.